Red flags to look for when someone claims to have your dog

Be careful giving out personal information when asking the public to find your dog. Photo: Getty

Mérida, Yucatán — Going public to announce a lost pet could lead to telephone scams, the state attorney general’s office warns.

Authorities described a recent scam attempted on the owner of a lost border collie who shared their grief in a Facebook group.

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A caller claiming to be from the city kennel told the dog’s owner that the collie had been found and caged, and had already been adopted at the shelter by someone else. She connected the dog’s owner to the alleged new owner.

The person posing as the new owner told the victim that the collie was now in Veracruz, and asked for a significant sum of cash, wired to a Banamex account, to return him to Mérida.
The person supposedly in Veracruz was able to describe the dog accurately going by details posted earlier on social networks.

The state attorney general’s office said that in this case, a pet owner should demand a photo of the pet taken that day. If a pet is returned, the exchange should take place in public, and the owner should be accompanied by at least one companion.

If a phone call seem suspicious, hang up immediately and contact the Office of the Attorney General at the 911 or 089 emergency number, authorities advise.